Protesters pass a charred bus in Tahrir Square, in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, April 9, 2011. Soldiers beat hundreds of protesters with clubs and fired heavy volleys of gunfire into the air as part of a pre-dawn... (Mohammed Abu Zaid)

(Newser)
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Once the defenders of Egypt's revolution, the army is now squarely in the crosshairs of tens of thousands of protesters who again crowded Cairo's Tahrir Square yesterday. Bloggers have been jailed for "insulting the military," thousands have been arrested, and women in military custody have been subjected to bogus virginity exams, reports the New York Times, and the backlash was evident yesterday. “We don’t want a confrontation with the army, but they have to understand that the people will not go quiet,” says a protester. “This is a revolution.”

Protesters had vowed not to leave without the resignation of the defense minister. But even the military crackdown in Tahrir smacked more of Hosni Mubarak's era than that of a burgeoning democracy, notes the AP: Hundreds of soldiers beat protesters in a 3am raid in which two people were reported killed—including one soldier who joined protesters. The military denied there were fatalities. "I saw women being slapped in the face, women being kicked," says another protester.

I wonder why we (usa) are not attacking egypts military??? Why so quick to attack Libya??? Can someone explain to me the difference between the two situations? Is this just another oil issue??? Is all this civil unrest just the beginning of the final chess move for larger dominating countries to take control of the middle east, or will it be another long drawn out game that ends in a stalemate. Either way the people lose, meaning we all lose. When will we stop allowing government to stop putting the almighty dollar aka bottom line be more important than our lives??? People need to wake up and realize that the governments are just puppets run by the rich elite and their henchmen. It is time that we start doing what ever is required to make the governments of the world realize right is right and wrong is wrong. There is no grey line.

Bartmaeus

Apr 10, 2011 10:35 AM CDT

But some things haven't changed--like the brutish oppression of Christians. http://www.aina.org/news/20110408230557.htm

polstroad

Apr 9, 2011 6:52 AM CDT

Because all young men serve in the Egyptian military, it has been viewed as a peoples army. Alas, the professionals in the military got many special priveges and they are not about to give them up readily. the military has provided stability till elections etc, something missing from other nations in the region also in foment.